Mikhail Pavlovich Sablin (russian: Михаил Павлович Саблин, ua, Миха́йло Па́влович Са́блін) (June 17, 1869 - October 17, 1920), was an admiral in the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...

, the first independent

Ukrainian Navy The Military Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Військо́во-морські́ си́ли Збро́йних сил Украї́ни, ВМС ЗСУ) is the maritime forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Ar ...

and a member of the White Russian Movement.

Biography

Sablin was born into a naval family in

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

, his father was Vice Admiral Pavel Sablin and his brother

Nikolai Pavlovich Sablin Nikolai Pavlovich Sablin (russian: Николай Павлович Саблин) (16 April 1880 – 21 August 1937) was an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy Sablin was born into a naval family in Mykolaiv. His father was Vice Admiral Pavel Sa ...

was also a naval officer. Sablin graduated from the Sea Cadet Corps in Petrograd during 1890 and was assigned to the

Russian Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

. He was later posted to China where he participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion. During the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

of 1904-1905, he was an officer on the , and survived the sinking of this ship during the Battle of Tsushima. After repatriation to Russia after the end of the war, he again served with the Black Sea Fleet, commanding a destroyer and a

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...

before being given the command of the battleship in 1912. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Sablin commanded the cruiser squadron of the Black Sea Fleet, and took part in numerous combat actions against the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Kaise ...

and Ottoman Navy, for which he was awarded the

Order of Saint George The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...

for his valour. He was promoted to Chief of Staff of the Black Sea Fleet in 1917. After the Russian Revolution Sablin took command of the Black Sea Fleet early in 1918. He raised the colours of the

Ukrainian National Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1 ...

on 29 April 1918.Operation Fleet For Ukraine

The Ukrainian Week ''The Ukrainian Week'' ( uk, Український Тиждень, translit=Ukrainskyi Tyzhden) is an illustrated weekly magazine covering politics, economics and the arts and aimed at the socially engaged Ukrainian-language reader. It provides ...

(16 May 2011) In May 1918 the Germans invaded the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

and Sablin moved a portion of his fleet (two battleships and fourteen destroyers) to Novorossiysk in order to save it from capture. He was ordered to scuttle his ships by

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

but refused to do so, travelling to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

in order to plead his case. Sablin was arrested and imprisoned by the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

s but escaped in August 1918 and made his way via the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to join

Pavlo Skoropadskyi Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi ( uk, Павло Петрович Скоропадський, Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi; – 26 April 1945) was a Ukrainian aristocrat, military and state leader, decorated Imperial Russian Army and Ukrainian Army ...

's anti-Bolshevik forces in the Crimea. Sablin commanded the

naval forces A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

of the White Movement but was invalided out due to ill health in 1920. He died of liver cancer in

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Cri ...

on October 17 and was buried in Sevastopol.

References

*''This article was translated from Ukrainian Wikipedia''
page in Russian language from Hronos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sablin, Mikhail 1869 births 1920 deaths Imperial Russian Navy admirals Ukrainian admirals Russian military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I White movement admirals People from Sevastopol Deaths from liver cancer Deaths from cancer in Russia Naval Cadet Corps alumni